Little At A Time
Phoebe was practicing a new kickboxing routine at the Great Meadows
Gym. She whirled around one more time and then finished with some
breathing exercises to cool down.
"Hey, you're looking good there, Phoebe," said one of the gym
A Little At A Time
Phoebe was practicing a new kickboxing routine at the Great Meadows Gym. She whirled around one more time and then finished with some breathing exercises to cool down.
"Hey, you're looking good there, Phoebe," said one of the gym instructors. "Want to try me on the mat?"
"Thanks, but I'm just plan tired. I want to head home and get some sleep. Thanks. Maybe some other time, Ned." said Phoebes apologizing.
She took one more look in the mirror and subconsciously complemented herself. She had come a long way since that day she showed up on the doorstep of Halliwell Manor holding the house key prior to finding the Book of Shadows. She felt like she could take on any demon or warlock now. Well, most any demon. Phoebes headed for the showers.
In the locker room while getting dressed, a demon with no name looked at her from another plane of existence. He chuckled to himself and said, "We will get rid of these meddlesome witches a little at a time. The demon world is not a safe place. Duplex odium dorsum malaxis. They will not last long."
Phoebe felt a sudden chill and grabbed her coat. Her skin suddenly felt very tight.
"Brr. I hope I'm not coming down with a spring cold." said Phoebes as grabbed her bag and headed home. No one was there so she grabbed a fruit juice, headed to bed, studied for an hour and dropped off to sleep. Both of her sisters were on dates. Piper came home late with Leo and Prue did not show up at all.
During the night Phoebes had a disturbing dream. She was standing in a mist and heard an eerie voice say over and over, "The Charmed Ones are going to vanish. The Charmed Ones are going to vanish." Phoebe just turned over and ignored it since it didn't feel like a premonition.
In the morning Phoebes jumped out of bed. Even after seven hours of sleep, she still felt tired. After dressing, she quickly headed off to school. All daylong she felt tired and had trouble staying awake in class. That night she had a big date with a young lawyer she met in one of her seminars. He had invited her to attend a big society dance. Phoebe was very excited. Seldom did she get to mingle with the top 400 of San Francisco society. Her best dress was red and was too tight on her the last time she had it on. Just for laughs she tried in on.
"Whoa, it fits like a glove. Could I have lost that much weight? I was hoping to bulk up a bit and add muscle. Oh, well Phoebes. You're going to look great in it. Good for it, girl. You look hot tonight," she said pumping herself up.
When she came down the steps, even Prue commented how sophisticated she looked.
"Wow! Don't run off with any rich heirs tonight. Phoebes, you'll be the belle of the ball," said Piper.
"Oh, it's nothing. Just something I found in my closet," said Phoebe coyly.
"Did she say her closet? Are my ears deceiving me?" teased Prue.
"You know very well I have finally collected a decent wardrobe in MY own closet," said Phoebes.
"Don't forget to return them to us someday," said Piper cutely.
Phoebes gave them a dirty look and headed out the door.
At the dance she had the time of her life. Her date treated her like a princess. They danced and danced. Even Phoebe's fatigue did not bother her.
In the morning she woke up as his apartment. After a quick thank you kiss, she dressed and headed for home. Classes would be starting in a few hours. Glancing in the mirror she noticed that her beautiful red dress was hanging on her in the mid-section.
"It couldn't have stretched, could it?" she thought.
Walking in very early, she heard someone up in the kitchen.
"Piper, what are you doing up so early?" asked Phoebes.
"Moi? How about you sneaking in at four thirty in the morning? I HAVE to be at the club to check the timer on the boiler at six. You must have had a good date. Good time, um?" asked Piper with a wicked gleam in her eye.
"Let's say everything went very well. We clicked on EVERY level," Said Phoebes.
"Seeing him again?" she asked.
"I can only hope. We need an intimate dinner date to just talk," said Phoebes.
"You didn't talk last night?" asked Piper winking at her.
"Not much. I gotta run," said Phoebe as she gave Piper a kiss and ran upstairs.
Piper felt a sudden chill in the kitchen and headed for the hot coffee.
As she reached for the cup, all the skin in her arm felt tight. "Weird feeling!" she thought to herself.
Upstairs Phoebes showered and washed her hair. Curious she got out the bathroom scale and gasped when she found she had lost fifteen pounds. Looking at herself she did have much less across her mid-section. She hadn't remembered changing her routine that much. So she pulled on an outfit, pulled her belt in an extra notch and headed to school grabbing TWO granola bars today.
Piper had a long day. Usually she tries to start at noon or at the earliest midmorning at the club since it stays opened until 2 AM. Her staff was competent enough that she didn't have to stay there that late every night. But today she started early and ended late. Prue came in about 9 PM and sat down at the bar.
"Well, barkeep. What do you recommend?" asked Prue.
"No double duty shifts after a late night the day before," said Piper as she put her head on the counter.
"Hey Pipe. Do you want me to close up tonight? You look dead to the World," said a worried Prue.
"Dead is preferable to what I feel now. Thanks Prue. You're a dear," said Piper who gave her sister a quick kiss. "But I've been tracking a loss in inventory all day and I want to keep at it till the bitter end."
"Bitter, how about chilly? What's the temperature in here?" asked Prue.
"Feels fine to me. I'll just add it to my "to do" list. How about an espresso? Instead of the usual," asked Piper.
"Sounds great!" said Prue. "Make it a double."
The next morning Phoebe was up early. She really felt tired and lightheaded. She looked in the mirror and never remembered looking so gaunt. Running into the bathroom and she checked the scale. She had lost another fifteen pounds!
"How did I go from 115 to 85 weight in just a few days? I have got to have a check up." said Phoebes getting dressed. Nothing really looked good on her since she had dropped four dress sizes. In her appointment book she wrote down, "Call doctor for an appointment." Phoebes had always been healthy and never felt too much of a need for a check up. She would have gone that day, but she had a big science test.
At school, several members of her class mentioned that she looked so thin. Someone even put a pamphlet on her books about eating disorders. Since every other day or so, Phoebe ate like a horse, she really didn't think that was the problem.
Piper had gotten complements on having lost weight, even though she hadn't been trying to. The fatigue continued throughout the day and Piper did call it an early night. Checking out the mirror at home she did notice a little loss. Nothing that she would have really noticed if people hadn't said anything. Since Piper had been a chef, she always enjoyed her food and never worried about her weight. She had enough other activity that kept her weight fairly even.
As she passed the bathroom, she heard Phoebe crying.
"Are you all right, Phoebes." said Piper.
"No," said Phoebes weakly.
"Can I come in?" she asked.
"Ah. All right!" she said.
Piper came in and was shocked at the very least. There stood Phoebe standing on the scale in her underwear that hung from her extra thin frame. Her cheekbones stood out, her shoulder blades marked her greatest width, her rear end had reduced to near nothing and her limbs looked like toothpicks.
"Phoebes, oh my God. OH MY GOD! You don't look well, sweetie. Have you been eating?" she practically screamed at her.
"YES! Yes, I have been eating. I've lost almost 40 pounds in the last few days. I look like a mess. I am nothing but skin and bone. I look horrible!" said Phoebes breaking out into tears and grabbing Piper for support. Piper could feel every bone in her body.
"Phoebes, we're going to the emergency room now!" said Piper sternly.
"Before you start looking like death. Oh my poor baby sister! Get dressed Phoebes. I'll drive."
"From the car Piper called Prue. "Prue, get to the emergency room. It's Phoebes. I can't describe it. She has lost a third of her body weight. We're going for help. Meet us there. Bye," said Piper.
The doctors who examined her were baffled. "Except for you're expected loss of vitamins and calcium, you don't seem to have any reason for losing the weight." said Dr. Houseman.
"Then I can go home?" asked Phoebes timidly.
"No. You are going into the hospital for observation, monitoring and IV treatments. I need to run more tests. Since you say this has occurred recently, then that rules out most eating disorders. We need to find the physical problem. Nurse, take Ms. Halliwell to admitting," said the Doctor Houseman.
"Thank you doctor," said Phoebes weakly.
"I'll talk to your sisters," said Doctor Houseman.
He explained again that there appeared to be no mental problems. Prue and Piper said that there was no problems like that in their family. And that Phoebe had always been very healthy. Neither Piper nor Prue slept well that night.
In the morning, Piper felt very weak. She remembered Phoebe on the scale so she went and measured herself. She had lost about 20 pounds herself.
"Prue!" she called out from the bathroom.
"What is it? You know what time we got in this morning?" she said sleepily.
"Prue it's happening to me too. I'm losing weight!" said Piper nervously.
"Piper, I can assure you whatever Phoebes has is not contagious," said Prue putting her hand on her shoulder.
"UH, right. How come I've lost twenty pounds? Look at me!" said Piper.
Piper definitely had less meat on her. She had lost the little baby fat she had.
"Now you measure YOURSELF!" said Piper.
"All right, all right. Anything to help you settle down. There. I'm about five pounds under. But with all the photos shoots I've had and the meals I've skipped, I'm not surprised. Now get dressed. We're going to go see Phoebes. Don't worry!" said Prue.
"She doesn't have to worry, I'm the one who has to worry." said Piper to herself.
Talking to Doctor Houseman the next morning he said worried, "I have no good news. The tests show nothing and she lost another seven pounds since she was admitted. Another few pounds and she will have serious physical damage. I've never seen anyone debilitate at the rate she is."
Piper burst into tears and Prue held her tight.
"Can we see her?" asked Prue.
"For a minute," he said.
Phoebes smiled weakly when she saw them. "Hi guys. Hi Dorothy. Where's Toto? I can come as the scarecrow!" she tried to laugh. Her eyes were now set deep in her head as every bone showed in her arms. Piper had never seen so many monitors for one patient before.
"We'll get you though this," said Piper.
"Keep up your strength, we love you!" said Prue now slightly crying.
"I'll be up in no time at all," said Phoebes crying and trying to relieve her sisters. "I love you both, very much. Good-bye," she said.
They spent most of the day in the waiting room. Phoebes was too weak for visitors. By dinnertime, she had lost another ten pounds and the nurse told Prue and Piper that Phoebe had slipped into a coma. That was too much for Piper and Prue took her home.
As Piper undressed herself she saw a very gaunt figure in her mirror. Hysterically she ran to the bathroom scale and saw she had lost another 8 pounds.
"PRUE!" she shouted as loud as she could.
"What, what?" screamed back Prue coming into the bathroom.
"Another eight pounds! I've LOST another eight pounds. I'm going the same way as Phoebe. I'm vanishing!" said Piper red-eyed and balling.
Prue hesitantly moved over to the scale. She had gone down another eight pounds too.
"All three of us are losing weight? That just can't be! We must be hexed! Up to the attic Piper, AGAIN," said Prue.
Prue and Piper went through the Book of Shadows more than once and found, "Nothing." said Prue slamming the book shut. "Nothing about a demon that causes witches to loose weight."
"I wish Phoebe was here. She knows that book backwards and forwards. Prue, I feel myself melting away. I bet I lost two pounds while we've been up here. I'm going to weigh myself again!" said Piper.
"Piper, let's not get obsessive about this," said Prue.
"Obsessive? Obsessive? Our sister is in that hospital dying. I'm only twenty pounds behind her Prue!" yelled Piper.
"And I'm fifteen pounds behind you. At least we started out heavier than poor Phoebe. We could end up in comas, too. And then bye-bye Charmed Ones! Why did we ever get into this mess?" said Prue yelling at the ceiling.
"I'd ask Phoebe, but she's in a coma!" said Piper yelling at Prue.
"So what would she do? We have to think like Phoebe. A terrifying thought to say the least!" said Prue.
"She'd cast a spell. She's the only one who's done that, so we have to have our debut now!" said Piper.
"What do we ask for? A cure?" asked Prue.
"NO! First let's ID this nozzle who hexed us!" said Piper. She got out a piece of paper, pondered for a while, wrote, edited and wrote again.
"Piper, it has to be good now. Let's recite it." said Prue.
"Demon or warlock,
who causes us shame,
reveal his person
AND send us his name."
"Nothing happened." said Prue.
"Maybe it will take a while, like a time delay." said Piper hopefully.
"We don't have time. Let me try another one. Here." said Prue.
"Demon or warlock,
not in this place,
reveal his person
and show us his face."
In the Book of Shadows an ink drawing appeared of an indistinct warlock. But unfortunately his picture appeared nowhere else in the book.
"Oh, Prue, we're hopeless," said a very sad Piper.
"No. We know we can cast spells. Let's see what we can do for Phoebe," said Prue.
"And what about those lovely consequences?" asked Piper.
"There shouldn't be any. Should there? I mean, we are helping someone tormented by a warlock. And we have done that before! Let's go see her," said Prue.
It was three o'clock in the morning when they got to the hospital. "Prue, I look awful. They're going to suspect something when two sisters show up like this. My clothes look like they're hanging on a COAT RACK!" whispered Piper.
"You can still freeze them if we run into trouble," said Prue.
At the hospital the night nurse explained that they couldn't seePhoebe. Her kidneys had shut down and she has been moved to the Intensive Care Unit.
"Whoosh!" with one flick of her fingers the staff froze solid as Prue and Piper walked right by.
"Nothing is going to stop us now. WE are going to see out SISTER!" screamed Piper.
In the Intensive Care Unit, Phoebes had been surrounded by many more monitors. Now a machine was purging her kidneys. Phoebe resembled a concentration camp survivor.
Piper cried, "She's not going to last long now. Let's do it.
"Beautiful sister,
Full of life and love,
Bring her health,
From spirits above,
Stop her withering,
From here and now,
Replace her loss,
With bulk, somehow,
Bring her back to this world,
Not to the next,
Give her her health,
And remove the hex."
Piper and Prue canted it several times until the night nurse came back to Phoebes' side. "I don't know how you got back here and I grieve for your sister, but there are many sick people back here. Now get out! Now!" she whispered sternly.
"Hopefully, there's one less sick person," said Piper quietly.
"Amen," replied Prue.
Both sisters spent the rest of the night in the waiting room. Very early the next morning they were both awakened by the nurse. "Doctor Houseman wants to see you." she said.
"It's amazing. Her kidneys have started up and her vitamin and calcium levels are starting to return. She's still in a coma, but we are at least hopeful now," the doctor said with some relief.
Prue and Piper jumped up and down and hugged each other and the doctor.
"That is the best news." said Piper to the doctor.
"Miss Halliwell? You look awful thin. I'd like to check you out." He said.
"UH, no. You can't. I mean it was probably just the worrying for my sister. I'm very hyper to begin with. You know, old hyper Piper! Ah, I gotta go," said Piper walking out with Prue.
"I really insist." he said till Piper froze him.
"Let's get back to the Manor. We'll do each of us, since we know it WORKS," said Piper.
"Well, it helps! We don't know of it removes the curse," said Prue.
"Yea, but ,um, I got forty pounds to put back on! Never thought I'd want to gain that much weight. Whoa!" said Piper.
They recited the incantation several times for both of them. By the end of the day neither of them had lost any more weight. Phoebe was recovering some, but was still in a coma.
The next morning Piper got up and looked in the mirror. She must have gained twenty pounds in during the night.
"Boy, if Jenny Craig could have this kind of results. Being a witch is not so bad," she said to herself.
"Prue. I'm looking pretty good this morning. How about you?" called out Piper.
"Not quite the same." yelled Prue who walked in twenty pounds OVERweight.
Piper first snickered, then looked sad and said cutely, "Oh, Prue. On you it looks good. Think of poor Phoebe and the possible alternative."
"Well, magic is obviously not an exact science. Like you said, I should be happy to be over the problem. I'll call the hospital and check on Phoebe." said Prue.
"She is still critical, but much improved," said the nurse, "And here."
"Prue, is that you?" said a weak Phoebe.
"Phoebes, is that you? OH MY LORD. PIPER, Phoebes is conscious!
Oh, Phoebes, the best sound in the world is your voice. How are you feeling, sweetie?" asked Prue.
"Not too good. I gotta get some rest. Say "HI" to Piper. Bye!" she finished.
"Bye, Pheebs." said Prue in tears.
"Prue, can I talk to Pheebs?" said Piper running into the kitchen.
"NO, she only spoke a moment. She sends her love," said Prue.
"Let's go down to the hospital and wait for her. I'm going now," said Piper.
"That might not be..oh forget it. I'm going too. The minute she can see us, I want to be there," said Prue.
After waiting for several hours, the other two sisters got in to see Phoebe.
"So, you're awake! You always did oversleep," said Piper kidding her.
"How are you doing, sleepyhead?" asked Prue.
"Doctor says at this rate I should be off the critical list day after tomorrow. I'm up to eight-seven pounds and gaining. We are the weirdest cases for the hospital. They will be able to write volumes about us. Speaking of weight Prue, have you been packing it in worrying about me?" asked a confused Phoebes.
"All three of us were losing weight and we cast a spell to reverse it. Piper's back to normal, but I over did it a bit. Guess I'll have to lose it myself. I just shows that these weight spells are unpredictable. We best stay away from them," said Prue.
"Well, it worked great for me and I really appreciate it. But what was the cause? Did you ever find out?" asked Phoebes.
"No, we have a picture but no specific individual, no name and no vanquishing spell. Time will tell," said Piper.
"Now you get well. You've got school and a home with two sisters who love you to get back to. Get some rest! Love ya," said Prue.
"Same here. Bye, Phoebes." said Piper.
"So long and THANKS!" cried out Phoebe.
Two weeks later Phoebes sat in her own bed still down from her normal weight.
"Here you are mint chocolate chip! The large helping," announced Piper as she and Prue entered her room. "A little welcome homecelebration. Eat hearty, Phoebes."
"Ugh, keep that away from me. I still have 35 pounds to get rid of," said Prue covering her mouth.
"Thanks, guys. I can use it, but look at my muscles. I'm going to have to start all over again. Any sign of the warlock?" she asked.
"Not a sign. And we seem to be back to normal. Well, getting there," said Prue patting her ample stomach.
Ummmmmmmmm." said Phoebes putting down he first bite. "You know what I like! And I'll need lots of it to make it back. I really love you guys." said Phoebes.
"Me too," said Prue.
"Ditto," said Piper as the enjoyed togetherness with a group hug.
"Don't congratulate yourselves too much, Charmed Ones. I am not defeated yet." said the warlock with no name. "Do not rest easy, I will be back!"
THE END
instructors. "Want to try me on the mat?"
"Thanks, but I'm just plan tired. I want to head home and get some
sleep. Thanks. Maybe some other time, Ned." said Pheebs apologizing.
She took one more look in the mirror and subconsciously complemented
herself. She had come a long way since that day she showed up on the
doorstep of Halliwell Manor holding the house key prior to finding
the Book of Shadows. She felt like she could take on any demon or
warlock now. Well, most any demon. Pheebs headed for the showers.
In the locker room while getting dressed, a demon with no name looked
at her from another plane of existence. He chuckled to himself and
said, "We will get rid of these meddlesome witches a little at a
time. The demon world is not a safe place. Duplex odium dorsum
malaxis. They will not last long."
Pheebs felt a sudden chill and grabbed her coat. Her skin suddenly
felt very tight.
"Brr. I hope I'm not coming down with a spring cold." said Pheebs as
grabbed her bag and headed home. No one was there so she grabbed a
fruit juice, headed to bed, studied for an hour and dropped off to
sleep. Both of her sisters were on dates. Piper came home late with
Leo and Prue did not show up at all.
During the night Pheebs had a disturbing dream. She was standing in a
mist and heard an eerie voice say over and over, "The Charmed Ones
are going to vanish. The Charmed Ones are going to vanish." Phoebe
just turned over and ignored it since it didn't feel like a premonition.
In the morning Pheebs jumped out of bed. Even after seven hours of
sleep, she still felt tired. After dressing, she quickly headed off
to school. All daylong she felt tired and had trouble staying awake
in class. That night she had a big date with a young lawyer she met
in one of her seminars. He had invited her to attend a big society
dance. Phoebe was very excited. Seldom did she get to mingle with the
top 400 of San Francisco society. Her best dress was red and was too
tight on her the last time she had it on. Just for laughs she tried
in on.
"Whoa, it fits like a glove. Could I have lost that much weight? I was
hoping to bulk up a bit and add muscle. Oh, well Pheebs. You're going
to look great in it. Good for it, girl. You look hot tonight." she said pumping
herself up.
When she came down the steps, even Prue commented how sophisticated
she looked.
"Wow! Don't run off with any rich heirs tonight. Pheebs, you'll be the
belle of the ball." said Piper.
"Oh, it's nothing. Just something I found in my closet." said Phoebe
coyly.
"Did she say her closet? Are my ears deceiving me?" teased Prue.
"You know very well I have finally collected a decent wardrobe in MY
own closet." said Pheebs.
"Don't forget to return them to us someday." said Piper cutely.
Pheebs gave them a dirty look and headed out the door.
At the dance she had the time of her life. Her date treated her like a
princess. They danced and danced. Even Phoebe's fatigue did not bother
her.
In the morning she woke up as his apartment. After a quick thank you
kiss, she dressed and headed for home. Classes would be starting in a
few hours. Glancing in the mirror she noticed that her beautiful red
dress was hanging on her in the mid-section.
"It couldn't have stretched, could it?" she thought.
Walking in very early, she heard someone up in the kitchen.
"Piper, what are you doing up so early?" asked Pheebs.
"Moi? How about you seeking in at four thirty in the morning? I HAVE to
be at the club to check the timer on the boiler at six. You must have
had a good date. Good time, um?" asked Piper with a wicked gleam in
her eye.
"Let's say everything went very well. We clicked on EVERY level." said
Pheebs.
"Seeing him again?" she asked.
"I can only hope. We need an intimate dinner date to just talk." said
Pheebs.
"You didn't talk last night?" asked Piper winking at her.
"Not much. I gotta run." said Phoebe as she gave Piper a kiss and ran
upstairs.
Piper felt a sudden chill in the kitchen and headed for the hot coffee.
As she reached for the cup, all the skin in her arm felt tight. "Weird
feeling!" she thought to herself.
Upstairs Pheebs showered and washed her hair. Curious she got out
the bathroom scale and gasped when she found she had lost fifteen
pounds. Looking at herself she did have much less across her
mid-section. She hadn't remembered changing her routine that much. So
she pulled on an outfit, pulled her belt in an extra notch and headed
to school grabbing TWO granola bars today.
Piper had a long day. Usually she tries to start at noon or at the
earliest midmorning at the club since it stays opened until 2 AM. Her
staff was competent enough that she didn't have to stay there that
late every night. But today she started early and ended late. Prue came
in about 9 PM and sat down at the bar.
"Well, barkeep. What do you recommend?" asked Prue.
"No double duty shifts after a late night the day before." said Piper
as she put her head on the counter.
"Hey Pipe. Do you want me to close up tonight? You look dead to the
world." said a worried Prue.
"Dead is preferable to what I feel now. Thanks Prue. You're a dear."
said Piper who gave her sister a quick kiss. "But I've been tracking
a loss in inventory all day and I want to keep at it till the bitter end."
said Piper.
"Bitter, how about chilly? What's the temperature in here?" asked
Prue.
"Feels fine to me. I'll just add it to my "to do" list. How about an
espresso? Instead of the usual." asked Piper.
"Sounds great." said Prue. "Make it a double."
The next morning Phoebe was up early. She really felt tired and lightheaded
this morning. She looked in the mirror and never remembered looking so
gaunt. Running into the bathroom and she checked the scale. She had
lost another fifteen pounds!
"How did I go from 115 to 85 weight in just a few days? I have got to
have a check up." said Pheebs getting dressed. Nothing really looked good on
her since she had dropped four dress sizes. In her appointment book she
wrote down, "Call doctor for an appointment." Pheebs had always been
healthy and never felt too much of a need for a check up. She would have gone
that day, but she had a big science test.
At school, several members of her class mentioned that she looked so
thin. Someone even put a pamphlet on her books about eating disorders.
Since every other day or so, Phoebe ate like a horse, she really
didn't think that was the problem.
Piper had gotten complements on having lost weight, even though she
hadn't been trying to. The fatigue continued throughout the day and
Piper did call it an early night. Checking out the mirror at home she did
notice a little loss. Nothing that she would have really noticed if people
hadn't said anything. Since Piper had been a chef, she always enjoyed her
food and never worried about her weight. She had enough other activity that
kept her weight fairly even.
As she passed the bathroom, she heard Phoebe crying.
"Are you all right, Pheebs." said Piper.
"No." said Pheebs weakly.
"Can I come in?" she asked.
"Ah. All right." she said.
Piper came in and was shocked at the very least. There stood Phoebe
standing on the scale in her underwear that hung from her extra thin
frame. Her cheekbones stood out, her shoulder blades marked her greatest
width, her rear end had reduced to near nothing and her limbs looked like
toothpicks.
"Pheebs, oh my God. OH MY GOD! You don't look well, sweetie. Have you
been eating?" she practically screamed at her.
"YES! Yes, I have been eating. I've lost almost 40 pounds in the last
few days. I look like a mess. I am nothing but skin and bone. I look
horrible!" said Pheebs breaking out into tears and grabbing Piper for
support. Piper could feel every bone in her body.
"Pheebs, we're going to the emergency room now!" said Piper sternly.
"Before you start looking like death. Oh my poor baby sister! Get
dressed Pheebs. I'll drive."
"From the car Piper called Prue. "Prue, get to the emergency room.
It's Pheebs. I can't describe it. She has lost a third of her body weight.
We're going for help. Meet us there. Bye." said Piper.
The doctors who examined her were baffled. "Except for you're expected
loss of vitamins and calcium, you don't seem to have any reason for
losing the weight." said Dr. Houseman.
"Then I can go home?" asked Pheebs timidly.
"No. You are going into the hospital for observation, monitoring and IV
treatments. I need to run more tests. Since you say this has occurred
recently, then that rules out most eating disorders. We need to find
the physical problem. Nurse, take Ms. Halliwell to admitting." said the
Doctor Houseman.
"Thank you doctor," said Pheebs weakly.
"I'll talk to your sisters." said Doctor Houseman.
He explained again that there appeared to be no mental problems. Prue
and Piper said that there was no problems like that in their family.
And that Phoebe had always been very healthy. Neither Piper nor Prue
slept well that night.
In the morning, Piper felt very weak. She remembered Phoebe on the
scale so she went and measured herself. She had lost about 20 pounds herself.
"Prue!" she called out from the bathroom.
"What is it? You know what time we got in this morning?" she said
sleepily.
"Prue it's happening to me too. I'm losing weight!" said Piper
nervously.
"Piper, I can assure you whatever Pheebs have is not contagious," said
Prue putting her hand on her shoulder.
"UH, right. How come I've lost twenty pounds? Look at me!" said Piper.
Piper definitely had less meat on her. She had lost the little baby
fat she had.
"Now you measure YOURSELF!" said Piper.
"All right, all right. Anything to help you settle down. There. I'm
about five pounds under. But with all the photos shoots I've had and
the meals I've skipped, I'm not surprised. Now get dressed. We're going
to go see Pheebs. Don't worry!" said Prue.
"She doesn't have to worry, I'm the one who has to worry." said Piper
to herself.
Talking to Doctor Houseman the next morning he said worried, "I have
no good news. The tests show nothing and she lost another seven pounds since
she was admitted. Another few pounds and she will have serious physical
damage. I've never seen anyone debilitate at the rate she is."
Piper burst into tears and Prue held her tight.
"Can we see her?" asked Prue.
"For a minute." he said.
Pheebs smiled weakly when she saw them. "Hi guys. Hi Dorothy. Where's
Toto? I can come as the scarecrow!" she tried to laugh. Her eyes were now set
deep in her head as every bone showed in her arms. Piper had never seen so
many monitors for one patient before.
"We'll get you though this." said Piper.
"Keep up your strength, we love you." said Prue now slightly crying.
"I'll be up in no time at all." said Pheebs crying and trying to
relieve her sisters. "I love you both, very much. Good-bye." she said.
They spent most of the day in the waiting room. Pheebs was too weak
for visitors. By dinnertime, she had lost another ten pounds and the
nurse told Prue and Piper that Pheebs had slipped into a coma. That was
too much for Piper and Prue took her home.
As Piper undressed herself she saw a very gaunt figure in her mirror.
Hysterically she ran to the bathroom scale and saw she had lost
another 8 pounds.
"PRUE!" she shouted as loud as she could.
"What, what?" screamed back Prue coming into the bathroom.
"Another eight pounds. I've LOST another eight pounds. I'm going the
same way as Phoebe. I'm vanishing!" said Piper red-eyed and balling.
Prue hesitantly moved over to the scale. She had gone down another
eight pounds too.
"All three of us are losing weight? That just can't be! We must be
hexed! Up to the attic Piper, AGAIN." said Prue.
Prue and Piper went through the Book of Shadows more than once and
found, "Nothing." said Prue slamming the book shut. "Nothing about a
demon that causes witches to loose weight."
"I wish Phoebe were here. She knows that book backwards and forwards.
Prue, I feel myself melting away. I bet I lost two pounds while we've
been up here. I'm going to weigh myself again." said Piper.
"Piper, let not get obsessive about this." said Prue.
"Obsessive? Obsessive? Our sister is in that hospital dying. I'm only
twenty pounds behind her Prue!" yelled Piper.
"And I'm fifteen pounds behind you. At least we started out heavier
than poor Phoebe. We could end up in comas, too. And then bye-bye Charmed
Ones! Why did we ever get into this mess?" said Prue yelling at the ceiling.
"I'd ask Phoebe, but she's in a coma!" said Piper yelling at Prue.
"So what would she do? We have to think like Phoebe. A terrifying
thought to say the least!" said Prue.
"She'd cast a spell. She's the only one who's done that, so we have to
have our debut now!" said Piper.
"What do we ask for? A cure?" asked Prue.
"NO! First let's ID this nozzle who hexed us!" said Piper. She got
out a piece of paper, pondered for a while, wrote, edited and wrote
again.
"Piper it has to be good now. Let's recite it." said Prue.
"Demon or warlock,
who causes us shame,
reveal his person
AND send us his name."
"Nothing happened." said Prue.
"Maybe it will take a while, like a time delay." said Piper hopefully.
"We don't have time. Let me try another one. Here." said Prue.
"Demon or warlock,
not in this place,
reveal his person
and show us his face."
In the Book of Shadows an ink drawing appeared of an indistinct
warlock. But unfortunately his picture appeared nowhere else in
the book.
"Oh, Prue, we're helpless." said a very sad Piper.
"No. We know we can cast spells. Let's see what we can do for Phoebe."
said Prue.
"And what about those lovely consequences?" asked Piper.
"There shouldn't be any. Should there? I mean, we are helping someone
tormented by a warlock. And we have done that before! Let's go see
her." said Prue.
It was three o'clock in the morning when they got to the hospital.
"Prue, I look awful. They're going to suspect something when two
sisters show up like this. My clothes look like they're hanging on a
COAT RACK!" whispered Piper.
"You can still freeze them if we run into trouble." said Prue.
At the hospital the night nurse explained that they couldn't see
Phoebe. Her kidneys had shut down and she has been moved to the
Intensive Care Unit.
"Whoosh." with one flick of her fingers the staff froze solid as Prue
and Piper walked right by.
"Nothing is going to stop us now. WE are going to see out SISTER."
said Piper.
In the Intensive Care Unit, Pheebs had been surrounded by many more
monitors. Now a machine was purging her kidneys. Phoebe resembled a
concentration camp survivor.
Piper cried, "She's not going to last long now. Let's do it.
"Beautiful sister,
Full of life and love,
Bring her health,
From spirits above,
Stop her withering,
From here and now,
Replace her loss,
With bulk, somehow,
Bring her back to this world,
Not to the next,
Give her her health,
And remove the hex."
Piper and Prue canted it several times until the night nurse came
back to Pheebs' side. "I don't know how you got back here and
I grieve for your sister, but there are many sick people back here.
Now get out! Now!" she whispered sternly.
"Hopefully, there's one less sick person." said Piper quietly.
"Amen," replied Prue.
Both sisters spent the rest of the night in the waiting room. Very
early the next morning they were both awakened by the nurse. "Doctor
Houseman wants to see you." she said.
"It's amazing. Her kidneys have started up and her vitamin and calcium
levels are starting to return. She's still in a coma, but we are at
least hopeful now." the doctor said with some relief.
Prue and Piper jumped up and down and hugged each other and the
doctor.
"That is the best news." said Piper to the doctor.
"Miss Halliwell? You look awful thin. I'd like to check you out." he
said.
"UH, no. You can't. I mean it was probably just the worrying for my
sister. I'm very hyper to begin with. Ah, I gotta go." said Piper
walking out with Prue.
"I really insist." he said till Piper froze him.
"Let's get back to the Manor. We'll do each of us, since we know it
WORKS." said Piper.
"Well, it helps! We don't know of it removes the curse." said Prue.
"Yea, but ,um, I got forty pounds to put back on! Never thought I'd
want to gain that much weight. Whoa!" said Piper.
They recited the incantation several times for both of them. By the
end of the day neither of them had lost any more weight. Phoebe was
recovering some, but was still in a coma.
The next morning Piper got up and looked in the mirror. She must have
gained twenty pounds in during the night.
"Boy, if Jenny Craig could have this kind of results. Being a witch is
not so bad." she said to herself.
"Prue. I'm looking pretty good this morning. How about you?" called
out Piper.
"Not quite the same." yelled Prue who walked in twenty pounds
OVERweight.
Piper first snickered, then looked sad and said cutely, "Oh, Prue. On
you it looks good. Think of poor Phoebe and the possible alternative."
"Well, magic is obviously not an exact science. Like you said, I
should be happy to be over the problem. I'll call the hospital and
check on Phoebe." said Prue.
"She is still critical, but much improved." said the nurse, "And
here."
"Prue, is that you?" said a weak Phoebe.
"Pheebs, is that you? OH MY LORD. PIPER, Pheebs is conscious!
Oh, Pheebs, the best sound in the world is your voice. How are you
feeling, sweetie?" asked Prue.
"Not too good. I gotta get some rest. Say "HI" to Piper. Bye." said
Pheebs.
"Bye, Pheebs." said Prue in tears.
"Prue, can I talk to Pheebs?" said Piper running into the kitchen.
"NO, she only spoke a moment. She sends her love." said Prue.
"Let's go down to the hospital and wait for her. I'm going now."
said Piper.
"That might not be..oh forget it. I'm going too. The minute she can
see us, I want to be there." said Prue.
After waiting for several hours, the other two sisters got in to see
Phoebe.
"So, you're awake! You always did oversleep." said Piper kidding her.
"How are you doing, sleepyhead?" asked Prue.
"Doctor says at this rate I should be off the critical list day after
tomorrow. I'm up to eight-seven pounds and gaining. We are the
weirdest cases for the hospital. They will be able to write volumes
about us. Speaking of weight Prue, have you been packing it in
worrying about me?" asked a confused Pheebs.
"All three of us were losing weight and we cast a spell to reverse
it. Piper's back to normal, but I over did it a bit. Guess I'll have
to loose it myself. I just shows that these weight spells are
unpredictable. We best stay away from them." said Prue.
"Well, it worked great for me and I really appreciate it. But what
was the cause? Did you ever find out?" asked Pheebs.
"No, we have a picture but no specific individual, no name and no
vanquishing spell. Time will tell." said Piper.
"Now you get well. You've got school and a home with two sisters who
love you to get back to. Get some rest! Love ya," said Prue.
"Same here. Bye, Pheebs." said Piper.
"So long and THANKS!" cried out Phoebe.
Two weeks later Pheebs sat in her own bed still down from her normal
weight.
"Here you are mint chocolate chip! The large helping." announced
Piper as she and Prue entered her room. "A little welcome home
celebration. Eat hearty, Pheebs."
"Ugh, keep that away from me. I still have 35 pounds to get rid
of." said Prue covering her mouth.
"Thanks, guys. I can use it, but look at my muscles. I'm going to
have to start all over again. Any sign of the warlock?" she asked.
"Not a sign. And we seem to be back to normal. Well, getting
there." said Prue patting her ample stomach.
Ummmmmmmmm." said Pheebs putting down he first bite. "You know what I
like! And I'll need lots of it to make it back. I really love you guys."
said Pheebs.
"Me too." said Prue.
"Ditto," said Piper as the enjoyed togetherness with a group hug.
"Don't congratulate yourselves too much, Charmed Ones. I am
not defeated yet." said the warlock with no name. "Do not rest
easy, I will be back!"
THE END